Chapter 9 #2
She came in carrying two smoothies. She placed one on the counter, then took a seat in one of the barstools at the island. She was in all black today, wearing wide-leg trousers, a silk top, and her bob freshly done. As always, everything about her outfit and makeup that day was effortless.
Zena muted the TV and grabbed the smoothie off the counter.
“The shoot has been pushed to Thursday,” Lisa said, taking a long pull from her straw.
“I know the stylist texted me.”
“Good.” She looked around the condo approvingly. “You got this place together nicely.”
“Took me all day.”
“Where’s Tate?”
Zena looked at the TV. “Out.”
Lisa made a sound that wasn’t quite a response. Zena was still learning how to read to Lisa. One minute, Lisa seemed genuine; the next, she was standoffish.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Supreme wants to talk to you about something.”
Zena looked at her. “About what?”
“Finesse.”
She knew the name. Finesse was Royal Reigns’ biggest rapper right now, his single was topping the charts, and his face was going global daily. From what she learned from his interviews, he was twenty-six, charismatic, and recently single.
“What about him?”
Lisa turned the smoothie cup slowly in her hands. “The label thinks there’s an opportunity. You two doing some press together. Being seen together. Maybe even a feature on the album. It would be good for both of you. You’re new, he’s more established, the crossover audience would—”
“No.”
Lisa looked at her.
“I have a boyfriend,” Zena said. “I’m engaged.” She touched the ring on her finger like it had been on there for days. “I’m not pretending to date someone for the press.”
“It wouldn’t be pretending, it would be—”
“Lisa...please.”
Lisa sighed.
“I’m not doing it.”
Lisa set her smoothie on the island. “Tate isn’t good for your image.
” Her eyes narrowed. “He has no status. He contributes nothing to the brand. And frankly…” She paused.
“The people around you in this industry will be watching who you choose to align with. Finesse would open doors Tate will never have the keys to.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion about my relationship.”
“No, but Supreme is going to ask you directly, and I’d rather you hear it from me first, so you’re not caught off guard.” She held Zena’s gaze. “You can say no to him, but I just want you to understand what you’re saying no to.”
Zena looked down at the ring. Looked around the condo. Then back to Lisa.
“I’m saying no,” she said.
Lisa nodded once, as if she’d expected it and was filing it away accordingly. She pulled out her phone while Zena finished off her smoothie.
“There’s something else.”
Lisa’s tone had shifted.
“J-Rock mentioned it, and I told him I’d bring it up.” Lisa put her phone face down on the Island. “The label stylist flagged something in the last round of shoots. The way certain tops are fitting.”
Zena waited for clarification.
“They think—” Lisa trailed off. “The feeling is that a slight enhancement. Up top. Would complement the Princess Z aesthetic. Make the whole look more…”
“You’re talking about my breasts.” She looked down at her chest.
Lisa looked at her then. “I’m relaying what was said.”
“They want me to get implants.”
“Everyone thinks it would —”
“I heard what you said. Zena rounded the island to get closer to Lisa. Her voice was even, and she was working to keep it that way. “The label wants me to surgically alter my body to fit an aesthetic I didn’t choose, for an image I didn’t agree to, so I could better sell music that doesn’t sound like me. ”
Lisa didn’t flinch. “That’s one way to frame it.”
“Is there another way?”
A long pause.
“The industry has a look,” Lisa said. “You know that. You knew that when you signed. They’re not asking you to do anything that half of the women in this industry haven’t already done.”
“I didn’t ask what other women have done.” Zena voice raised slightly.
“Zena..”
“I said no to Finesse.” She looked at Lisa directly. “Tell J-Rock I said no to this, too.”
The room fell silent between them.
Lisa finished off her smoothie and stood. She tossed the cup in the trash, then smoothed her pants down with one hand and looked at Zena.
“You sure about that?” Lisa asked.
“Yes.”
“You know what I was before Royal Reign?” she said.
“A video girl. That was my lane from the time I was sixteen. That’s how I got in the room.
You know what they told me when I turned 21?
When I wanted to be taken seriously as someone in the industry and eventually gain access to certain places.
” She looked around the room, then brought her eyes back to Zena.
“They told me nobody would book a video girl with a flat chest.”
Zena stayed quiet.
“So, I did it. Not because I wanted to. Because I understood the transaction. You give them something, and they give you access. And I used that to build everything that I have today.” Her hand went to the diamond tennis bracelet on her wrist. “I’m not telling you it was right. I’m telling you how it works.”
Zena folded her arms over her chest, right over her B-cups. “And you think I should do the same thing?”
“I think…I think you’re sitting here with what I didn’t have when I was your age. Real talent.” She paused. “And I also think the label doesn’t care about that as much as they should. And they’re not going to stop asking.”
She walked to the door. “I want you to think about it. That’s all. For what it’s worth, you don’t really need it. I mean that.”
She left.